“O Muse,/ Sing in me, and through me tell the story/ Of that man skilled in all the ways of contending/ A wanderer, harried for years on end…”
Odysseus, or Leopold Bloom or Ulysses Everett McGill? I can’t seem to get it right anymore. I’ve read Homer’s Odyssey and Joyce’s Ulysses. I’ve seen the Coen brothers’ new film O’ Brother Where Art Thou? twice. The hero’s trials and wanderings remain the same. His final destination, his wife, remains the same as well. What doesn’t persist is his location. Odysseus traverses the wild, mythic terrain of ancient Greece.
Leopold Bloom makes his way through the streets of Dublin, Ireland. Ulysses Everett McGill, portrayed by George Clooney, wanders the equally mythic terrain of the Deep South.
The Coens’ new movie is a loose adaptation of the Odyssey, bringing Homer’s epic hero, already revived once in Ireland, back to life in America. Despite its classical Greek overtones, Joel Coen says, “This interpretation is a very American story, as all our stories are.” He’s not lying. Blending southern archetypes, factual and fictitious non-Homerian characters, as well as subtle pop-culture references, O’ Brother is a brilliant, heartfelt mishmash of Depression-era America.
The story begins as Ulysses Everett McGill (referred to as Everett in the film), escapes from a chain-gang cracking rocks along the side of the road. Chained to the dimwitted Delmar (Tim Blake Nelson), and the phlegmatic pessimist Pete (John Turturro), Everett has his work cut out for him. He has promised the two a treasure that he stole and buried before prison, so they will escape with him. However, as a blind prophet (Homeric Equivalent: Tiresias) tells the escapees, “You will find a fortune, but not the fortune you seek.”
After a narrow run-in with the law, the trio encounters a congregation of Baptists (HE: Lotus Eaters) doing baptisms in a lake. Delmar and Pete get saved, but Everett isn’t quite so taken in by the idea of having his soul cleansed. They next meet Tommy Johnson (Chris Thomas King), a young musician who has just sold his soul to the devil in exchange for unearthly talent on the guitar. Having heard about a man who will, “… pay you to sing into his can,” Everett decides to take his chances. They travel to a radio station, talk to the man about his can, and perform “A Man of Constant Sorrow” under the nom de plume, The Soggy Bottom Boys.
The character of Tommy Johnson is based on Depression-era guitarist and namesake Robert Johnson, who reputedly sold his soul to the devil for his talents. At the radio station, The Soggy Bottom Boys also encounter another real-life character, Pappy O’Daniel. Pappy (played by Charles Durning), is the incumbent governor running for re-election in Mississippi. The real Pappy O’Daniel ran in Texas. Up against him is the reform candidate, Homer Stokes (Wayne Duvall). Homer the poet, candidate Homer Stokes; do we know any other Homers? Take a look at Homer Stokes and think of another Homer S. you know. That’s right, the Coens did it on purpose.
Clooney as the scheming, overly verbose Everett, seems to have loosened up, and he lets the comedy come easily. He also took home a Golden Globe on Sunday for his performance, so trust me, ol’ George is better than you’re expecting. Tim Blake Nelson (The Thin Red Line) is completely irresistible as the sweet and bewildered Delmar. The Coens also elected to reunite the two Johns (not They Might Be Giants), in O’ Brother Where Art Thou. Having already appeared together in the Coen films Barton Fink and The Big Lebowski, John Turturro and John Goodman again lend their talents to the writer/director duo.
Both actors won awards for their work on Barton Fink, and they return with two more strong performances. The chameleonic Turturro, who went from nervous blocked writer to pedophilic latino bowler, now morphs into an uneducated southern hillbilly under the Coens’ direction. Needless to say, his Pete is astoundingly backwards. John Goodman, as usual, is huge and loud as Big Dan Teague (HE: Cyclops), a Bible salesman Delmar and Everett encounter. Goodman’s performance, enhanced by a disconcerting blind eye, is creepily comparable to the disturbing work in Barton Fink that earned him a Golden Globe award.
Other notables appearing are Holly Hunter (Raising Arizona) as Everett’s wife Penny (HE: Penelope) and Michael Badalucco (The Practice). Badalucco’s character, George “Babyface” Nelson, is another personality from real life. Nelson was a prolific bank robber who died in a hail of FBI gunfire in Illinois in the early `30s.
Pursued all the way by lawman Cooley (Patrick Von Bargen, Malcolm in the Middle), the trio continues in search of the treasure. Cooley is relentless, setting fire to the places the escapees are hiding, eerily resembling Tommy’s earlier description of the devil, whom he’d met at the crossroads. Dark forces work against Everett and his homecoming; from Cooley, to the sirens, to members of a Ku Klux Klan rally. It seems as if the gods themselves are against his return to Ithaca, Miss. (HE: Odysseus’ hometown Ithaca), to stop his wife from marrying another man. Yet Everett prevails, and earns his chance to prove to his wife once and for all that he’s bona fide.Needless to say, there are still a few surprises left, but they should be left unspoken for the viewing pleasure of the film.
Persistence, the will to carry on in spite of the gods, or the devil himself, is what drives these epic heroes. It’s also what makes the story stretch and resonate all the way from ancient Greece to modern day.
I say epic of Everett because here, like Homer and Joyce, the Coens have created their own impressive ballad. O’ Brother Where Art Thou is a genuine and intelligent comedy, borrowing from classical literature, yet staking its own claim on creative greatness.
The Muse has opted to sing through the Coen brothers, and the sound is sweet.
